I was lucky to learn at a young age that you can only control two things in sports—how hard you work and your attitude. Everything else is outside your control. This allowed me to focus on the aspects that I could control and then let the chips fall where they may. I never worried about what call the referee missed, why the coach didn't play me enough or why I'm not suiting up for the Friday night varsity game. I focused internally on what I could be doing to make sure that whatever happened, would never happen again. There was always something that I could change in my preparation for next time.

As I found more success in athletics, I began to realize how much of what I accomplished could never have happened without the mentors, coaches, staff and teammates around me. Never once did I throw the football to myself, tape my own ankles, schedule a bus to an away game. The list goes on and on of the support that I received throughout my time at Lincoln. As I get older and "zoom out" on my past athletic achievements, nothing could have been done without the constant support from these people. This concept alone inspires me to give back so the student athletes at Lincoln could have the same positive experience that I did.